• For an Ohio learner's permit, you must be at least 15 1/2 years old.driving 4 image by Andrzej Borowicz from Fotolia.com
  
  Your child must be at least 15 1/2 years old to be eligible for a learner's driving permit, according to Ohio law. This documentation will allow him to practice while you are in the vehicle with him. According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety website, your child may practice with this permit only between the hours of 6 a.m. to midnight.
  
  

Identification/Co-signing

• You and your child must come to the secretary of state's office with two pieces of identification, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. As a parent, you must co-sign his permit application. This is so that the state of Ohio can hold you responsible in case your child commits an illegal act while behind the wheel.
  
  In order for the state of Ohio to accept a document as legal identification, it must be able to prove your full legal name, according to Ohio Administrative Code 4501 1-19, 21 and 22. The document must include your birth date; Social Security numbers; and proof of U.S. citizenship, or legal presence. In addition, the document must bear your current Ohio address.
  
  Only original documents are acceptable. However, if you have lost yours, you must sign an affidavit saying that your originals went missing. Under those circumstances, the state will accept a copy.
  
  

Classroom Instruction

• Your child must log 74 hours behind the wheel before he can even consider taking a test and obtaining his probationary license, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. He must spend 24 of those hours in instruction, consisting of 16 hours in the classroom and eight hours with a certified driving instructor.
  
  

Field Experience

• Your teenager must spend 50 additional hours driving, including 10 hours practicing night driving, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. At the conclusion of that time, you must sign an affidavit certifying that you have witnessed his completion of those hours and, to your satisfaction, that he completed driving sufficiently to warrant a temporary license.
  
  

Testing

• According to the Test Questions and Answers page, you must pass a written test on motor vehicle laws, safe driving practices and traffic signs. The Ohio Department of Public Safety website says you must wait six months before taking the test for your driver's license. Also, you must take a vision test to determine whether you need glasses or contacts to successfully pass the road test, or whether the secretary of state should refer you to an ophthalmologist for his opinion on whether you are legally blind.